A Dying Breed?

“Three hundred thousand whales and dolphins drown in fishing nets each year and it is impossible to calculate how many more fall victim to pollution, ship strikes, the impacts of sonar or climate change,“ said Greenpeace marine biologist Stefanie Werner. “How can pro-whaling nations justify hunting them as well?“ Next week more than seventy nations will gather in Anchorage, Alaska to determine the fate of the great whales, under increasing pressure from whaling nations such as Japan, Iceland and Norway, for a formal resumption of commercial whaling. Later this year in the Southern Ocean, the Japanese government plans to hunt nearly 900 minke whales, increase the take of endangered fin whales to 50 and add 50 threatened humpback whales to the quota. “Governments attending the IWC must make a commitment to defend the whales, not the whaling industry,“ added Werner. “The drive to resume commercial hunting is one of the most extreme examples of governments’ failure to protect our oceans in their entirety. A clear signal needs to be sent that oceans protection is being taken seriously and governments can start at the IWC by defending the moratorium on commercial whaling and making a real commitment to modernising the Commission.“ Werner concluded. The whales and dolphins where placed in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. They were washed up on European beaches and subsequently collected by Greenpeace activists. The causes of death ranged from drowning in fishing nets, toxic pollution or from underwater noise. Some of them show scars from ship propellers or fishermen knifes. One died as it was giving birth. Whales and dolphins are key components of healthy ocean, but increased pressure from overfishing, climate change and pollution are threatening all the worlds oceans and marine life. Ironically tomorrow is the International Day of Biodiversity. Scientists worldwide have highlighted strong links between the resilience of marine ecosystems and their species richness. Whales are an important component of this desperately needed biodiversity. In addition, many species have still not recovered from the devastation of commercial whaling and population levels for some species, including minke whales in Antarctica, are unknown, making it clear that there in no place for whaling in the 21st century. Strong conservation measures need to be taken to protect them. Most important is the designation of large-scale marine reserves where no fishing or whaling would be allowed.